OK. I read this over a week ago and I’m already hazy on the details. So here’s a quick recap once I read the Goodreads summary which jogged my memory 😉

The narrator of the story, Bendrix, is in love with a married woman, Sarah. Their affair has ended over two years ago and by chance, he runs into her husband, with whom he was also acquainted, one night in the rain. This leads him to recall the details of his love affair with Sarah and to possibly try to rekindle things with her.

Sarah’s husband, Henry, confides in Bendrix that he thinks Sarah might be cheating and Bendrix becomes obsessed with knowing if he’s been replaced. This leads to a discovery of a strange anti-religion protester with whom Sarah has taken up. However, Bendrix misinterprets things which leads to major repurcussions.

The book itself has beautiful prose, and describes the emotional roller coaster of love perfectly. As Bendrix says at the beginning, the story is more of hate than of love, but one can’t be sure. Sometimes the two emotions are intermingled, as they are in this story.

This is a melancholy, sad story but it will touch your soul. Forgetting the fact that it centers around adultery, the love between Sarah and Bendrix is something that many will relate to.